by Tia Siren
“Want to dance?” I asked Ashley, who quickly agreed.
“There’s Anna!” she said excitedly.
I looked in the direction she was staring and my mouth dropped open. “Wow. She looks amazing.”
Ashley giggled. “Yes, she does, but this is the only time you are allowed to say it.”
Anna looked very happy and completely in her element as she held court in a corner of the room. Men were fawning over her and she was practically glowing in her dark blue gown.
“Let’s grab a drink,” Ashley said, pulling me toward the open bar.
We spent the next hour drinking and dancing. I was having a blast and could tell Ashley was as well. It was good to be carefree and enjoying life with someone I cared so deeply about.
I left her at the bar with Anna and ventured over to talk with one of the realtors I knew in the area. It wasn’t long before there was a small group of us talking about various properties and the current demand for large residential parcels.
“I know an excellent photographer who can sell a property with a single picture,” I boasted, then spoke to the group about her skills as a photographer.
“Ashley.” I called her over. “This is her,” I said with a great deal of pride.
She nervously smiled, looking at me. “Her?”
“These gentlemen are looking for a photographer to create some pictures for a brochure they are putting together for a new resort they are building. I told them I knew the best photographer in West Virginia.”
“You’re too kind,” she said, extending her hand and introducing herself to the men.
They exchanged information.
“Thank you,” she whispered in my ear.
“Of course. I’ll have your schedule booked full by the time we’re done tonight.” I winked.
It was close to midnight when I realized I’d had enough of partying.
“Ash.” She was giggling in a corner with her sister, Leslie. “Ash, I have a room for us. Are you ready to leave?” I asked, hoping my words weren’t slurred.
The champagne had been very generous, and I felt very tipsy and horny. I wanted to get my girl alone in the hotel room. We had both admitted defeat an hour ago, recognizing there was no way I could drive home.
“I am,” she said. Her face was flushed from her alcohol consumption.
“Have fun, you two,” Leslie mumbled.
She had clearly been enjoying the free alcohol as well. In fact, the entire room was filled with raucous, drunken laughter and a lot of flushed faces. The hospital knew how to throw one hell of a party. It was a little ironic, but they had worked out a deal with the hotel that any party-goers would get a discount on rooms if they chose to stay. It was a win-win for everyone.
Anna came to stand beside Leslie. “Let’s go,” she said, taking Leslie’s hand.
“Drive safely,” I told her. “Are you sure you don’t want to get rooms? I’ll pay,” I offered.
Leslie smiled. “No, thank you. Anna is sober. We’ve got to get home to the kids. We stayed too long as it is.”
We wished them well and headed for the exit. Ashley wrapped her arm around my waist and leaned into me. The two of us stumbled down the hall to the elevator. It was reminiscent of many of the parties we’d attended when we were younger. When the elevator doors slid shut, I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her.
“I love you,” I murmured against her lips.
She went stiff in my arms and tried to pull away. I kissed her again, holding her firmly in place.
The doors slid open and I pulled her down the hall to our room. I managed to get the keycard in after fumbling a few times and pushed the door open. She kicked off her heels the second she stepped inside.
“Thank God,” she said a little too loudly. “My feet were killing me! Why did I think I needed such high heels?”
“Because they are incredibly sexy.”
She giggled. “You couldn’t even see my shoes. The gown covered them.”
I grabbed her and kissed her. “I love you.”
“Brock,” she protested, trying to pull away.
I shook my head. “Uh-uh. I love you. You are not going to run from me this time, Ashley Parks. I love you and you are stuck with me.”
My hands moved up her back and found the zipper. I slowly pulled it down as I kissed her neck. It fell away and pooled at her feet while I caressed her nearly naked body. She carefully stepped out of the dress and draped it over a chair. I stood there, staring at her in those thigh-high black stockings and tiny black thong with a strapless bra.
“You’re so fucking hot, Ashley. I love you,” I said again. “I want to fuck you every time I see you. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world and you’re mine.”
I was going to keep saying the words until she heard them, believed them, and accepted them. I wasn’t letting her run out of my life. Not again.
A sexy, “fuck me” smile spread across her face as she sauntered toward me. She kissing me before pulling the bowtie from around my neck. I reached down and scooped her up and into my arms. She gasped.
I carried her to the single bed in the room and gently deposited her on top of the blankets.
“I love you. I am going to make love to you and show you how much,” I promised her.
She leaned back, propping herself up on her elbows, challenging me to have my way with her body. I was going to do just that, but first I owed her. I reached down and started to pull one of those sexy black stockings down her leg. I kissed each inch of her leg as it was exposed, spending some time at her knees before moving down her beautiful shins and all the way down to her toes.
I kissed her foot, then each of her toes. “I love you.”
I went to work on the second leg, repeating the action, and this time, when I got to her foot and kissed it, she said it.
“I love you, too,” she breathed out.
I smiled and looked up at her. “I know.”
She laughed. “Ha! You only thought you knew.”
“Oh, I knew, Ashley. It’s you who has taken so long to figure it out.”
I went back to kissing her feet and gently massaged each one. She had told me earlier in the night that the heels were killing her feet. I had promised to pay them a great deal of attention. I was a man of my word.
“You’re amazing,” she whispered.
I grinned. “I know.”
Her head dropped back as she laughed. “If only you weren’t so lacking in confidence.”
I chuckled as I rubbed her feet. It didn’t take long for the foot rub to turn into something else entirely.
Chapter 39
Ashley
His magical hands were giving me the best foot massage I had ever experienced. My feet felt like putty in his hands. Gone were the cramps and sore muscles. He rubbed all the aches and pains away.
I felt flushed, and it wasn’t because of the alcohol now. I writhed on the bed as he ran his tongue up my leg.
“Roll over,” he instructed.
I rolled onto my stomach. He rubbed my shoulders before moving down my back and unfastening my bra. I breathed a sign of ecstasy at the freedom that small gesture gave me. He worked my back, kneading and rubbing away all the tension.
“When did you learn how to give such good massages?” I mumbled. My cheek was pressed against the bed and my body was too relaxed to think about lifting my head.
“I read about it,” he said glibly.
I didn’t want to know. I was perfectly happy to enjoy the benefits of his experienced hands. His hands moved to my lower back, where he applied gentle pressure as he rubbed outward from my spine.
I moaned in ecstasy. One of his hands cupped my ass. He rubbed before dropping his lips and kissing a trail up my spine. I shivered in delight as he explored every inch of my body. No part of me had been untouched—except that one part that was growing more desperate.
He worked his way back and slowly pulled my thong down. I lifted my hips eno
ugh to allow him to pull it past my thighs and down my legs.
“I love your body,” he said, coming to lay beside me on the bed. I lay there feeling completely relaxed. He kissed my forehead as he ran one of his hands down my back. I rolled to my side and put a hand on his chest. He was still fully dressed.
“Why aren’t you naked?” I asked petulantly.
He grinned. “I was too busy taking off your clothes.”
“I want you naked.”
He rolled and got off the bed. I followed him. My hands began the tedious task of unbuttoning each of the buttons on his shirt before pushing it off his shoulders. My mouth closed over one of his nipples. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed his ass, yanking him toward me. I pushed my breasts against his chest and rubbed up and down, relishing in the feel of his crinkly chest hairs scraping against my sensitive nipples.
I quickly unfastened his belt and then the button on his pants before pulling the zipper down. I pushed his pants down his hips and then dropped to my knees in front of him, pulling the pants as I went.
I looked up at him and saw desire on his face. His blue eyes were half closed as he stared down at my naked body. I pulled his boxer briefs down until his cock sprang free. I wrapped one hand around the shaft, holding it in place as I slowly began to lick circles around the head. The first bead of cum appeared, and I greedily licked it.
His body jerked forward and his hand went into my hair. Wetness pooled between my legs. I stroked his dick and licked up and all the way down to the base before cupping his balls. His balls were swollen. I gently caressed them with the tips of my fingers before kissing them and pulling them into my mouth.
“Ash,” he groaned.
I ran my tongue up his hard cock and took him deep in my mouth. His hands were in my hair, holding my head as I sucked hard. His body jerked and I knew he was close. His hands were under my arms and yanking me up the length of him before he lifted me and carried me to the dresser, depositing me on the cold, smooth top.
I spread my legs, welcoming him into me. Instead of shoving that lovely cock inside me, he pushed a finger into my opening. I hadn’t known how close I was to coming until he swept his finger inside.
My back arched and I came. His mouth dropped to my breast, where he began licking and sucking, causing my body to spasm. He pulled his finger out and pushed his palm against me. I rocked my hips against it. His mouth moved to my neck and then to my own. His tongue plunged deep inside. I kissed him back as if I were starving. I couldn’t get enough of him. I gyrated against his hand, feeling another orgasm building.
He dropped to his knees in front of me and shoved his face between my legs. One lick of his tongue against my pussy and I was coming again.
“Brock,” I moaned, leaning my head back as the violent waves of a powerful orgasm rocked through me.
He pulled my clit into his mouth and gently sucked. I bit back the scream that threatened to erupt from my mouth at the sheer ecstasy of the act.
His mouth was on mine in the next instant. He stepped between my legs and plunged deep inside. I moaned low and long as I focused every part of my being on his invasion. He was filling me with his heavy cock. Every nerve in my body felt as if it were raw. His dick scraped across my sensitive clit, causing me to jerk with a tremor of ecstasy.
“You’re so fucking hot, Ashley,” he whispered as he pushed in the last fraction of an inch. “I want to bury myself inside you every time I see you.”
I nodded, unable to speak. My body felt as if it had shattered and been loosely put back together.
“I love you. You aren’t leaving me,” he said, thrusting deep inside me.
“I love you.” I grunted the words out in between his thrusts.
“Say it again,” he demanded, his voice strained.
“I love you!” I shouted. “I love you,” I shouted again as he drove into me over and over. Another orgasm tore through my body, leaving me feeling boneless as I fell backward, inadvertently spreading my legs wider.
“Fuck!” he shouted as he pounded into me, driving me into the wall with each thrust.
He collapsed against me as I reclined on the dresser, my head and shoulders supported by the wall. It took him a few minutes to catch his breath before he gently lifted me and carried me to the bed. He managed to get us both under the blankets where we quickly fell asleep in each other’s arms.
I awoke in the morning to the smell of French toast and coffee. I opened my eyes and saw Brock coming out of the bathroom in just his pants from the night before and nothing else.
“Good morning.” He greeted me with a smile. “I ordered room service.”
I smiled and pulled the sheet off the bed and walked to the table. “It smells delicious!”
I sat down and we both dug in. Neither one of us mentioned the night before or what was said. It was a giant elephant in the room, but he wasn’t bringing it up, so I wasn’t going to either. I hated having to put on the gown from the night before, but knowing we were doing the walk of shame together made it a little better.
“Ready to get out of here?” he asked.
I nodded. “We dash through the lobby. I don’t want anyone staring at us for too long. I’m sure we’ll make quite the site in our evening wear.”
He laughed. “Let them talk.”
We drove home in relative silence, both of us lost in thought. When we got to the outside of town, I asked him to pull over.
“Here?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes, here.”
It was a place I knew he loved. It was one of the more popular running paths, and I knew Brock ran here often. We got out and walked to one of the overlooks. A few runners went by, staring at us as if we were crazy. We probably were, but I didn’t care.
“What’s up?” he asked nervously.
“Brock, will you marry me?”
He looked at me as if he thought I had lost my mind.
“Ash?”
I laughed and repeated the question. “Will you marry me?”
He started laughing and shaking his head. “You’re crazy.”
I shrugged. “I am. I know that, but can you handle my crazy, neurotic ways?”
His answer was obvious when he grabbed me by the waist and spun me around before putting me back on my feet and kissing me.
“Damn straight I’m going to marry you.”
I pressed my face against his chest, appreciating his hard body. “I know I have put you through so much, and for that I am truly sorry. I don’t think I was ready then. I am now. I promise you, I’m not running anywhere unless it’s to chase you.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I know you weren’t ready, and I don’t think I was either. I just wanted to rush to the altar because I was so desperate for a family. I wanted to fill the void in my life without actually trying to go through all the steps. We were too young and immature. I’m glad we waited. It gave us time to figure out who we were on our own,” he said, kissing me on the forehead.
“My dad is going to be very pleased with himself. He is going to take credit for bringing us back together.” I sighed.
“That’s fine. He can take the credit. When do you want to do this?”
“Tomorrow?” I joked.
“I’m good with tomorrow, although I think we may have a tough time getting the license and all that on a Sunday.”
“Fine. Monday then,” I teased.
“We’ll definitely need to make it happen soon. I don’t want to wait another minute. I want you to be my wife,” he said tenderly.
I looked up and kissed him. We walked to one of the benches that overlooked the landscape and sat down to hash out the details. I knew the minute we got home and told the family, there would be a lot of opinions and suggestions about how it should all go down. We had fallen into that trap before and neither of us wanted to do that again.
“My dad saved my dress,” I told him.
“Really? You know, I never did get to see you in it.”
/> I laughed. “I don’t think anybody did. Do you think it would jinx us if I wore it for our wedding?”
“Nope. I think you should. You bought that dress for our wedding. I remember how excited you were about it. If you want to wear it, I think you should. I can’t wait to see you wear it.”
“I hope it still fits,” I muttered.
“It will. Come on, we better get home and get this out of the way.”
We stopped at Brock’s house first so he could shower and change. Then he took me home. Brock visited with my dad and Jasper while I quickly showered and changed into shorts and a T-shirt. When I joined them in the kitchen, my dad’s eyes were twinkling.
I had a feeling he already knew, but we still had to make the official announcement. The four of us sat at the table.
“Dad, Jasper,” I started, “Brock and I are going to be getting married.”
Jasper looked at each of us before turning to his grandpa. “You were right, Grandpa,” he said with a huge smile.
We all laughed before Jasper started asking a million questions about the wedding and where we would all live. My dad sat in his chair, smiling and looking happier than I had seen him look in a long time.
“Thanks, Dad,” I said, leaning over to hug him. “Thank you for having faith in me and for pushing me back into his arms,” I whispered.
He nodded his head. “I knew you needed a little time—and a big nudge. I’m very happy for you, happier than you can possibly imagine.”
Epilogue
Brock
Six months later
I had to pinch myself to make sure this was really happening. It was early January and the New Year had an entirely different meaning for me this year. It was a new beginning, a new life that I was excited to embrace with Ashley by my side. I didn’t need to make a New Year’s resolution. I was going to be taking vows that committed me to something far more important than an empty promise to change who I was. I already had changed.
After years of heartache and trying to accept that I would never have the woman of my dreams, she was standing beside me, ready to make me her husband. It had taken a little longer than we had initially wanted to get to this point, but life had a funny way of working things out. It was on a schedule of its own choosing, not necessarily that of the people living those lives.
